“When you go home, tell them of us and say, ‘For your tomorrow, we gave our today.’”
Those words always resonate most with Bryan Yoakum during Memorial Day.
“For me, Memorial Day is a day of gratitude that is shared with my family and close friends. We take the time to express our appreciation and give thanks for the men and women who paid the ultimate price so that we may continue to retain our liberty and freedom,” he said. “It is also a time that we extend our gratitude to those family members who were forced to endure the pain, inconsolable heartache and sacrifice of losing a loved one during military service. We also remember the service members, whose lives have been radically altered as a result of physical and emotional, combat-related, wounds.”
Yoakum, Director of Walbridge Technologies, is U.S. Army veteran, serving for eight years (six years in full-time active duty, two years in the Army Reserves). He has a number of close family members who have served, including his wife.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the military,” he said. “I met a lot of wonderful people, learned new skillsets, was able to see and experience new places and cultures and create lasting memories. There are days that I really miss the camaraderie and wearing the uniform.”
Senior Superintendent Jon Molnar, a U.S. Marine Corps. Veteran, served directly out of high school. He spent four years in the Marines, including one overseas tour in Southeast Asia.
“Memorial Day is a time to recognize the sacrifice of those who came before us – both military and civilian – who gave much so that we may enjoy our freedom and quality of life as Americans,” he said. “Specifically, for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives, and those who still live, but are forever changed. Veterans day is for all veterans, Memorial Day is for those who left most, or all, for their country.”
For Molnar, Memorial Day is much more than just 24 hours during the last Monday in May.
“As Americans, the most tangible thing we can do on Memorial Day – and every other day – is to live our lives in a manner that honors the sacrifice of so many that came before us,” he said. “We owe them a tremendous debt that can never be fully repaid, but every day that we conduct our lives with honor, integrity, kindness, and inclusion is another installment on the payment we received from them.”
Meanwhile, for Yoakum, Memorial Day brings back vivid memories of a school trip to Arlington National Cemetery in the eighth grade.
Surrounded by the aligned headstones, his teacher began explaining the cemetery’s importance when the conversation was drowned out by a familiar song.
“Everyone stopped talking,” he said. “I had heard ‘Taps’ before in old war movies my father used to watch. But this time it was profoundly different for me. This was the first time that I really ‘heard’ ‘Taps’ … with feeling and meaning. The magnitude of where I was at, what was being played and why it was being played hit me all at once. It absolutely wrecked me.”